OLD PLYMOUTH . UK
Plus parts of the South Hams and West Devon
www.oldplymouth.uk
 

RAILWAYS IN OLD PLYMOUTH

PLYMOUTH STATION (NORTH ROAD)

Following the closure of Friary Station, as from Monday September 15th 1958 North Road Plymouth Station became simply "Plymouth Station", although there is photographic evidence that the old nameboards were still in use in 1959.

The railmotors to and from Saltash normally used Platform 6. As they were required to stop by the subway stairs.

Early on the morning of Friday July 1st 1960 the new marble-fronted booking office at Plymouth Station was opened for business.  The booking staff obtained the tickets from automatic ticket machines, which was also a new innovation for the City.

At 4pm on Saturday November 26th 1960 work started on switching over from semaphore signalling to colour-light signalling at Plymouth Station.  Trains were signalled by hand lamps while the old apparatus was being dismantled.  When the work was completed on Monday November 28th 1960 and the new Plymouth Panel Box came in to operation, the signal boxes at Lipson Junction, North Road East, North Road West, Devonport Junction, Devonport Albert Road and Cornwall Junction were all closed.  Thus Laira Junction Signal Box in the east and Keyham Station Signal Box in the west became the fringe boxes.  Now eight signalmen could do the work previously done by twenty.  Also, new colour light signals were brought into use at Mount Gould Junction.

The rebuilt station and the new tower block housing the District Manager's staff were officially opened by Doctor Richard Beeching, chairman of the British Railways Board, on Monday March 26th 1962.

At the western end of Plymouth Station was a turntable and engine sidings.

The lines through platforms 2 and 3 were truncated halfway along and converted into two sets of terminal bays for parcel traffic.  One of these is currently used by the trains to Gunnislake.  The remaining five lines were all made two-directional.  This work was done during March and April 1974 and brought into use on Monday April 29th 1974.